


Chasing Frogs

by sidekickjoey



Category: Tangled (2010), Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Comfort, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Rapunzel and Pascal friendship, Where oh where has Pascal gone?, tangled
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 12:12:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18120602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidekickjoey/pseuds/sidekickjoey
Summary: When Rapunzel wakes in the dead of the night realizing something, or someone, is missing, it is up to Eugene to help her find it, or him, before the sun rises.





	Chasing Frogs

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This originally was supposed to come out on the day of the two-year anniversary for Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, but I had minor surgery that day so it was postponed! I'm all good now though, so here is a cute little fluff piece to celebrate this cute world Disney made for us <3 I hope you enjoy!

“No, no he _has_ to be somewhere.”

Eugene’s eyes fluttered open to the pitter-patter of his beloved wife’s feet on their wooden floor. She was over at the balcony, peering into the still dark and hazy black night sky. Her body was bent over the railing as she seemingly reached out to the tree growing by their window for something she could not see. With a low groan and stretch, Eugene decided he might as well go inquire just what it was keeping her up at this ungodly time of day.

Shuffling past the bed, he came up behind Rapunzel and languidly wrapped his arms around her waist. She gasped a bit at his touch, but it was still not enough to distract her from the tree. Eugene rested his head on top of hers and sighed.

“Not that I don’t like looking at you from behind Blondie, but I’d much rather have you in bed.”

“Eugene, he’s missing.”

Eugene frowned. “Who? The tree?”

“No,” she whined, spinning out of his arms to face him, “Pascal!”

“And you noticed this in the middle of the night?”

“I was so exhausted I didn’t realize I missed saying goodnight to him before bed,” she fretted, scanning the balcony entrance just beyond Eugene as she spoke. Eugene could see her mind whirring with possible ideas of where she could check next. “The thought woke me up and when I checked, he wasn’t on his tree. I don’t understand where he could be.”

As much as Eugene would love to drag Rapunzel back to bed and try to convince her this adventure could wait until morning, he knew it would be a losing battle. His wife was a girl of passion and intense love for those dearest to her, and as much as he hated to admit it, that passion and love extended to her frog. She would not stop until he was found, even if that meant depriving herself and others of sleep. It was in his, and her, best interest to help. So, after stretching his back, Eugene let out a longer sigh, rubbed his forehead, and then asked Rapunzel where they should start to look next. As if on cue, her face brightened up.

“You check this room,” she called, already running to the bedroom door. “I’ll check the library!”

“The library?”

“We were reading stories together before bed!”

Eugene rolled his eyes as the bedroom door slammed shut. Sure. Pascal reading stories.

And  _he_  ate flies in his pastime.

Shaking his head, he bent to his knees by the bed and got to work. He fumbled first through the bedding which, thanks to Rapunzel’s hasty escape and his sloppy, sleep-propelled roll out of bed, had tossed them every which way. If Pascal was somewhere in the room out of sight, he surely would be in their mess. A few minutes of shaking the sheets and searching through pillows proved he, however, was not. From there, Eugene moved to the dresser drawers and the wardrobe which held Rapunzel’s gowns. These, too, proved fruitless. He slumped against the bedpost and called out to the little guy, his frustration brewing.

“Look frog, I know we haven’t been on the best of terms, but Blondie really misses you and I really miss sleep, so can we wrap this up and have you pop out somewhere for me? Please?”

To no surprise, Pascal did not jump out and surprise him. The room remained as dull, quiet, and empty as it had before, and he remained an idiot for talking to absolute nothingness in the dead of night. Eugene let his head fall back with a thump against the post. The things he did for love.

Speaking of love, his love came bursting through the door just about then. She looked frantic and even more upset than she had been upon her leaving, and something about the look in her eyes put Eugene on guard. Sitting up more, he walked to her side and held her by the shoulders.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“H-H-He’s nowhere,” she said, voice bleak. “He wasn’t in the library, so I checked the art room. He wasn’t there, so I went to the kitchen. Eugene, he wasn’t even in the garden.”

“You had enough time to visit the garden?”

“ _Eugene!”_

“Sorry,” he fumbled. He straightened his night shirt and then moved a strand of her hair from her face. “Look, I’m sure he’s around here somewhere. We just have to think like someone his size would.”

He would say like a frog, but Rapunzel looked in no mood for his verbal shenanigans.

“I  _did_ , which is why I went to the garden,” she cried. She dove into Eugene’s chest, tears beginning to spill unrelenting. “Eugene, he never disappears like this. What if he is in danger? What if an animal got him?”

As much as he hated to admit it, that was a very valid and possible fear of Rapunzel’s. He was not too sure what exactly was in the business of eating chameleons in the animal kingdom, let alone if any of those creatures resided in Corona, but something  _could_ be out there. Something could have very easily taken Pascal from his tree in one fair swoop, and they would not know otherwise. Eugene’s silence as his mind pondered this sent fear through Rapunzel’s veins.

“I  _cannot_ lose him, Eugene.”

“I know,” he said, glancing briefly back at the balcony. “I know, and we’ll still keep looking for him. Do you happen to know anywhere he sneaks off to, sweetheart? Anywhere you’ve seen him hiding before?”

Rapunzel stopped to think. “I…I think there might be one other place.”

“Oh?”

“The water fountain near the garden. Sometimes he likes to lay in it to cool off.”

Eugene petted her hair. “It is hot out, tonight. It’s worth a try.”

“Then let’s do it.”

Slinking out of his hold, Rapunzel readjusted her nightly robe and grabbed his hand to whisk him away. He followed her down and out of the castle, smiling at confused guards and trying to make sure anything she nearly knocked over in her chaotic run  _stayed_  nearly knocked over. When they made it outside, he stood panting trying to catch his breath while she approached the fountain. Her eyes widened.

“Eugene, he’s not here!”

It felt like even more wind got knocked out of him. Standing up straight, Eugene walked over to his wife’s side and peered into the fountain. Sure enough, there was not a chameleon in sight. Now, he was even starting to get worried.

“That’s so strange.”

“I feel like a horrible friend.”

Eugene shook his head. “No, no you’re not a horrible friend. Pascal’s tiny and quick. He’s literally  _made_  to disappear from others. You can’t blame yourself for an animal doing it’s natural thing.”

“But I’ve never lost him before,” she said, wiping a tear away. “All these years, and I’ve  _never_  let him out of my sight for this long. How can’t I feel guilty?”

Eugene knew that she actually had lost him longer the time they had to travel to her tower to find him, but it would be rude for him to point it out when Rapunzel was grieving. Pulling her to him, he kissed her temple.

“Because you have given him nothing but love and the best of care the entire rest of the way,” he said softly, “which tells me that only a very special extenuating circumstance could have led to him disappearing, not neglect on your part. If he’s in trouble, I’m sure he is trying everything he can to get back to you.”

“Just like you did.”

A handsome smile spread across his face. “Yes, like I did. Now, I don’t know about you, but I can barely see anything out here. Perhaps we can rest until the sun rises and then get back to searching? We might have better luck then.”

He could see she did not want to stop, but he also saw she  _desperately_ needed sleep. Dark circles were forming beneath her bloodshot eyes. Her body hung against his for support. She was fading and fading fast amidst the buzzing of her brain, and he needed to guide her to bed whether she was happy about it or not. Though tearful, Rapunzel nodded against his chest and let him start to pry her away.

But then, she heard a rustling.

Across from them, just up against the castle, a small figure popped out of the bush. One chirp from it instantly confirmed to Eugene and Rapunzel that it was in fact Pascal. To their surprise, however, another little figure popped out at his side. It, too, chirped.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

“Pascal!”

Rushing from Eugene’s side, Rapunzel slid to the ground and stared wide-eyed at her best friend. Pascal turned a shade of red but squeaked out some sort of reply to her. The smaller chameleon next to him squeaked a little nervously, obviously shocked by Rapunzel’s outcry.

“Where have you been? Who is this?”

Eugene chuckled. “Blondie, she can’t tell you her name. She’s a  _frog._ ”

“Eugene.”

“What? It’s the truth!”

Frowning, Rapunzel looked to the smaller chameleon. She shrunk back upon her gaze and bid behind Pascal. Pascal chirped sadly at her.

“Would you mind if I gave your friend a name, Pascal?” Pascal shook his head, so Rapunzel smiled and went right to it. “I’ll call her…Indigo! Because she looks kind of indigo right now. Is that okay?”

Indigo perked up at the name. Squeaking, she came out from behind Pascal and gave what Eugene swore was a smile to Rapunzel. He shook his head as she took the tiny thing into her palm.

“So, Indigo, I guess it’s safe to assume you were the one keeping Pascal out of bed?”

She turned positively pink. Rapunzel giggled, looking down to Pascal. He turned even more red. “Well, I think that it is wonderful that he’s found a friend as pretty as you. But, can you two promise me one thing? Let me know before you are going to sneak off like that?”

“And me,” Eugene chimed in with a yawn. “I rather like my sleep.”

Two mutual understanding chirps came from the chameleons. Rapunzel set Indigo down, satisfied, and rejoined Eugene at his side. Taking his hand in hers, she gave a curtsy to the chameleon couple and then wished them goodnight. She waited until they were both back inside their room to express her giddiness over the event. Eugene fondly shook his head as he plopped himself back on the bed.

“I can’t believe it!”

“See, I told you it would work out.”

“Pascal’s found  _love!”_

“Well don’t rush the man, now.”

Jumping into bed next to him, Rapunzel situated herself back into Eugene’s arms. “I’m so happy for him. I’ve been so worried about him getting jealous over me spending so much time with you, but now  _he_  has someone to spend time with for himself! Isn’t that great?”

“It is,” he replied, and he meant it. Knowing he did not have to worry that spending time with his wife of almost a year would upset her or the frog was a lovely feeling. Nuzzling himself into Rapunzel, he kissed her and brought them back to the comfy position they had been in before all of the shenanigans woke them up. While she sat thinking about how warm his arms were and how she hoped Pascal was as kind to Indigo as Eugene was to her, Eugene settled into the comfort of their shared bed and pondered just how he managed to snag such a loving, bright, selfless individual as Rapunzel by chance.

Just as her eyes began to flutter shut, her worries beside her now, Eugene kissed her and lovingly sighed.

“I love you, Blondie.”

Dreaming sleepy dreams, Rapunzel sighed too and smiled. “I love you too, Eugene. Thank you.”

“Anything for you.”

Even chasing frogs.


End file.
